George Takei shares his personal memories of being incarcerated in Japanese-American internment camps during World War II. He recounts the day his family was forcibly removed from their home by soldiers, leaving behind everything they owned. Takei describes their journey to various camps, reflects on the resilience of children, the courage shown by Japanese-Americans in the face of prejudice, and emphasizes the importance of learning from history.

Japanese American actor George Takei, born in 1937, was five years old when his family was uprooted from their home in Los Angeles and forced into incarceration camps in Arkansas and northern California. They returned to Los Angeles after World War II, and Takei enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley. While there, he discovered his love of acting through voice-over work and transferred to the University of California Los Angeles where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in theater. He is well known for his role as Lieutenant Sulu in the original Star Trek television series and movies and is a popular social-media presence as an advocate for gay rights and Japanese American groups. Takei served on the board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission for President Bill Clinton and was conferred with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan in 2004. He is also chairman emeritus of the Japanese American National Museum’s board of trustees and serves as chair of the council of governors of East West Players, a renowned Asian-American theater organization. Takei recently wrote a graphic memoir entitled, They Call Us Enemy, which illustrates the story of his incarceration during the war.

From the HBO / Kunhardt Film Foundation (KFF) Documentary “The Soul of America.” Based on Jon Meacham's bestseller that illuminates our present-day fraught political reality by exploring historical challenges including the women's suffrage movement, the incarceration of Japanese Americans, McCarthyism, and the fight for Civil Rights.

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George Takei, Actor and Activist
Interview Date: August 28, 2019
Interviewed by: Katie Davison

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